Mr Lawrence Daniells, known to his friends as 'Dan' died peacefully on 6th September 2001 in Balfour Hospital, Kirkwall, Orkney. He had been unwell for many months, deteriorating in health more rapidly for the last six weeks of his life. Dan was born on 21 March 1918 in Lower Heyford Northamptonshire, the youngest of eleven children, Early in his life the family moved to Leighton Buzzard. His father was a railway signalman. In common with most children of that era, he left school at 14, but always had an urge to read and study. Working as a railway clerk he attended evening classes and studied correspondence courses passing numerous examinations at each level of study.
By the time the Second World War had started and in common with many committed Socialists, Dan was a conscientious objector. But in 1940 felt that he could not close his eyes to the evils of Nazism sweeping Europe and decided that he needed to help protect his home and country and enlisted in the R.A.S.C. Eventually he applied for and gained his commission undergoing the extremely vigorous training required by The Parachute Regiment, signed the Official Secrets Act with all that means and, unlike a number of people these days, considered himself bound by the oath he had taken until the day he died. He saw action in various theatres of war, sometimes for only a short time, but memorably was involved in Operation Market Garden at Arnhem. He was one of the few survivors of that famous bridge and identified closely with events depicted in the film 'A Bridge Too Far'. He was taken prisoner by the Nazis and had many tales to tell of his days as a prisoner of war. With peace in Europe, he finally came home and expected to be shipped out to the Far East but the war in the Pacific ended before that happened. After a short spell in his old job, he applied for entrance to Goldsmiths College (London University) and gained his teaching qualification in 1950. His teaching career began in Dunstable and after only 5 years he became Senior Master.
In 1961 he was appointed Deputy Headmaster at Kingston Secondary Boys' School Stafford and 10 years later he was promoted to Headmaster. remaining there until his retirement in 1980. In October 1997 Dan attended the first reunion of former pupils of Kingston and was thrilled by the number of young men who talked to him and reminisced about their school days. The atmosphere was electric that evening and Dan often spoke about it. So much did he enjoy the event that he planned to attend the next one in September 2002. Sadly, that proved to be impossible, but he always felt that the 'boys' were the ones who mattered and he would have been there with them in spirit. To the end he would talk of individual people who had spoken with him.
His hobbies included reading with a study of history bias, walking, gardening, fishing, wine and beer making, all of which led to his decision to retire to the Orkney Islands so he could follow these interests to the full. Orkney has much to offer a man like Dan and he and his wife Kathleen spent nearly 21 happy years there, making new friends and becoming highly respected members of the community. His sense of humour was evident to the very end of his life. His daughters and son miss him deeply. Dan was a great man whom it was a privilege to have known.
I'm sure many stories will be told and many memories shared at the next reunion for former staff and pupils of Kingston School later this month on Friday 28 July 2023 at Stafford Rangers FC Social Club, 8pm - 12 midnight admission is free.
